Syracuse University fans have a time-honored tradition of standing and clapping until the
Orange scores its first basket of the game and then again in the second half.

The Orange put its fans to the test in the second half of Monday’s 92-56 victory over Manhattan.

Syracuse went almost seven minutes before making its first basket of the second half.
The Carrier Dome crowd even had to stand and clap through the first media timeout at the 15:49 mark of the second half.

As the Orange came out of its huddle, Syracuse senior Kris Joseph whispered to his teammates, “I know these fans are ready to sit down.’’

The fans finally took their seats when Fab Melo finally in Michael Carter-Williams’ missed shot with 13:17 left in the game.

While it took the Orange seemingly forever to make a field goal, Syracuse actually extended its lead over the Jaspers even before Melo’s tip-in.

Syracuse, which led 52-26 at halftime, out-scored Manhattan 8-to-4 prior to Melo’s bucket. The Orange took advantage of 10 Manhattan fouls in the first six minutes of the half. Syracuse went 8-for-11 from the line. Manhattan, meanwhile, struggled to score, missing eight of its first 10 field goal attempts.

“I think we were in the double-bonus four minutes into the second half,’’ Joseph said. “I think their plan was just to not let us get anymore field goals maybe.’’

Once Melo broke the lid on the basket, Syracuse cruised to an easy victory.

The 5th-ranked Orange (2-0) will take on Albany (1-1) in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Tuesday at the Carrier Dome. Albany defeated Brown, 77-68, in Monday’s first game.

Joseph finished with 15 points. In the first half, Joseph surpassed the 1,000 career scoring mark on a 3-point shot. The senior forward became the 55th player in SU history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Syracuse got great production from its bench. Dion Waiters led the Orange with 17 points, while reserve forward James Southerland added 15 points.

Melo, the 7-foot sophomore, scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
Syracuse had no trouble putting the ball in the basket in the game’s first half.

The Orange doubled up Manhattan, taking a 52-26 halftime lead. The Syracuse held Manhattan to 9-for-29 (31 percent) shooting, while the Orange made a stunning 22 out of 38 (57 percent) field goal attempts. Syracuse hit seven out of 13 shots from 3-point range in the opening half.

“The first half we got going offensively the best we’ve looked so far,’’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “We pushed the ball and didn’t turn it over. We got some good looks and we made some shots.’’

Syracuse created offense with its defense, scored 40 points off 28 Manhattan turnovers.

Syracuse used a 15-0 run to take a 20-8 lead as Manhattan went five minutes without scoring. After Kidani Brutus hit a 3-pointer to end Manhattan’s scoring drought, the Jaspers went another three minutes before scoring again. During that time, Syracuse increased its lead to 32-11.

Syracuse later out-scored Manhattan 16 to four over the last five minutes of the half.
Joseph highlighted the second Syracuse run with back-to-back 3-pointers. The first shot put Joseph over the 1,000-point mark for his career.

While Syracuse looked to get its transition game going, Manhattan was partly responsible for the hectic pace. The Jaspers pressed fullcourt for much of the game.

The Orange attacked Manhattan’s press, turning the ball over just 13 times. Jardine said the Orange will benefit from the experience of facing Manhattan’s fullcourt defense.

“Definitely, you play a team like Louisville that presses,’’ Jardine said. “Villanova presses 2-2-1, the same way. I give that team a lot of credit. Even when they were down, they pressed the whole game. They kept us on our toes.’’

The Jaspers also kept the Orange at the free throw line. The plethora of fouls resulted in Syracuse attempting 21 second-half free throws. The Orange made 14 of those.

Said Jardine, “I told Coach when we were on the bench, ‘We’re not scoring, but Coach look at the fouls’.’’

Boeheim could have looked at the fans, too. They were, after all, clapping.